Statehouse News Bureau

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Why Isn't Ohio Tracking Many Breakthrough COVID cases?

By Jo Ingles

Published August 27, 2021 at 4:00 AM EDT

Gov. Mike DeWine in December 2019 interview [Dan Konik / Statehouse News Bureau] — Gov. Mike DeWine in December 2019 interview

It’s clear some Ohioans who have been vaccinated are getting cases of breakthrough COVID-19. But what’s not know is the number of those cases because Ohio doesn’t track them unless they result in hospitalization or death.

Gov. Mike DeWine says he’s talked to the Ohio Department of Health to find out why it’s not tracking breakthrough COVID-19 cases. He says there’s no way to make sure those are reliable.

“I understand some other states are doing it, but we don’t think the figures would be very reliable. What we think is important is for people to know what their odds of are going to the hospital. And that’s the reason we report those numbers,” DeWine said.

DeWine says most who get breakthrough COVID do not require hospitalization and some cases might be so mild that people don’t know they have it.

The governor says 98.5% of those who have been admitted to the hospital with COVID have not been vaccinated.